Windshield visor mounting bracket



y 7, 1949. F. E. ELLITHORPE 2,470,477

WINDSHIELD VISOR MOUNTING BRACKET Original Filed July 15, 1946 INVENTOR.FRQ QJK E. ELLITHORPE ATT'Y 5 Patented May 17, 1949 WINDSHIELD VISORMOUNTING BRACKET Frank E. Ellithorpe, Glendale, Calil.'., assignor toThe Fulton Company, West Allis, Wis., a corporation of WisconsinOriginal application July 15, 1946, Serial No. 683,595. Divided and thisapplication June 12, 1948, Serial No. 32,562

Claims. 1

This application is a division of my copending application, SerialNumber 683,595, filed July 15, 1946, for windshield visor.

This invention relates to visors or sunshades for the windshield of anautomobile, and particularly to improved mounting brackets or means forattaching the visors to the body of an automobile in proper position andrelation with respect to the sloping windshield of the automobile.

The main objects of this invention are to pro-- vide an improvedmounting bracket for windshield visors or the like on automobiles; toprovide an improved mounting means or bracket for windshield vlsorswhereby no part of the exterior finish of the automobile body need bemarred or otherwise damaged during the attachment or detachment of thevisor; to provide an improved visor mounting bracket having a maximum ofstrength and stability in its attachment to the automobile body; toprovide a visor mounting bracket having improved attachment means forsecuring the same to the automobile body on the inside of the doorframe; to provide such'a device wherein the attachment means areaccessible only when the adjacent doors are open; to provide such adevice wherein the adjacent doors of the automobile, when closed, serveto enclose the attachment means and at'the same time clamp theattachment means and the bracket to the door frame; and to provide animproved visor mounting bracket having attachment means reachinginwardly of the door frame for connection thereto and having a sectionalcontour formed to snugly fit the inside surface of the door frame andthe bottom and side curvature of the rain-water gutter, or the outersurface of the vehicle body at the door frames.

A specific embodiment of this invention is shown in the accompanyingdrawings in which:

Figure 1 is a side view of a, visor, as applied over the slopingwindshield of an automobile, embodying the improved mounting brackets.

Fig. 2 is a sectional view as taken on line 2-2 of Fig. 1, showing theimproved manner of attaching the visor supporting brackets to theautomobile body.

Fig. 3 is a view in side elevation of a left-hand visor supportingbracket, showing the visor in section and an arrangement for attachingthe visor to the bracket, and

Fig. 4 is an end view of the same with the visor in section.

In the form shown in the drawings, the automobile visor comprises ashield or awning I, disposed transversely across the upper part of the 2rearwardly sloping windshield of an automobile so as to projectoutwardly over the same, suitably supported on a pair of end brackets orsupporting members 2, which in turn are secured to the automobile bodyon the inside of the respective adjacent door frames and projectupwardly therefrom on the outside of the body adjacent the upper part ofthe windshield.

The visor panel or awning may be of any suitable construction and may bemade from any suitable rigid or semi-rigid material such as aluminum,wood or wood composition, fabric, stainless steel, or a suitable plasticcompound, and may be made of one or more pieces, preferably havingdownwardly turned opposite ends so as to present a smooth, unbrokenappearance over its entire upper surface.

As shown in Figs. 2 and 4, suitable angle members 3 are provided at eachend of the visor I on the inside of the downwardly turned ends 4, whichangle members are disposed with their vertical legs adjacent and spacedinwardly a short distance from the said turned ends 4 and are secured tothe inner or lower surface of the visor by any suitable means, such asspot welding when the the improved supporting member or bracket 2.

As indicated in Fig. 3, the end-flange 3.l may be provided with a pairof longitudinal slots 5 and 6 which are aligned with each other and arehorizontally directed, and the visor is mounted on. or attached to, thesupporting bracket 2 by means of bolts 7 and LI, which pass through theslots 5 and 6 of the flange 3.l and into suitable apertures in thebracket 2.

Preferably bolts 1 and H are each provided with square shanks adjacentthe head portion, so that they will not turn in the slots 5 and 6, andare positioned in the slots 5 and 6 prior to the fastening of the anglemembers 3 onto the awning or visor, the heads of the bolts 1 and Lioccupying the space between the flange 3.! and the downwardly turned end4 of the visor. The bolts 1 and LI thus serve as pintles or gudgeons onwhich the visor end-flange 3.| is supported and may be adjusted, and therearward bolt 1 may serve as a pivot about which the end-flange 3.1 canturn or swing for vertical angular adjustment of the visor as will behereafter described. Suitable clamping means, such as wing nuts 8, maybe provided on the bolts 1 and H for the purpose of clamping or securingthe visor to the bracket 2 3 when the visor is set or adjusted to thedesired position.

It will be understood that two of the improved supporting members orbrackets 2 are required, one right-hand and one left-hand, to fit therespective sides of the automobiles to which they are to be attached.Since these brackets are identical in construction, except for the hand,only one of the brackets will be described in detail.

As before mentioned, the bolts 1 and Li, which secure the visorend-flange 3.I to the bracket 2, pass through suitable apertures locatedadjacent the uppermost edge of the bracket. The rearward bolt 1 passesthrough an annular hole in the rear upper margin of the bracket 2 so asto be held in a fixed position thereon and the bracket aperture for theforward bolt LI, nearest the overhanging part of the visor, may be inthe form of a slot disposed at substantially right angles to the upperedge of the bracket 2, or transversely of the slot 5 in the flange 3.l,so that a tiltingmovement or angular adjustment of the Visor may beobtained, the end-flange 3.I of the visor pivoting about the rearwardbolt 1.

As shown in Fig. 3, and as before mentioned, horizontal shifting of thevisor may be obtained by means ofthe slots 5 and 6 in the visorendflanges 3.l. Thus the visor may be shifted horizontally to vary theextent of the overhang over the windshield of the automobile, and theforward edge of the visor may also be tilted vertically so as to varythe angular relationship of the visor with respect to the slopingwindshield to which it is applied,

As shown, the improved visor supporting member or bracket 2 is asomewhat triangularly shaped form, the upper side of which is arrangedto fit within and along the legs of the angle member 3, secured to thevisor, and the opposite side of which is provided with integral inwardlyturned lugs or attaching flanges l0 and II, which reach laterally orinwardly into the adjacent door opening and by means of which thebracket 2 is secured to the inside of the automobile door frame.

Preferably the flanges or lugs l0 and H are bent from the body of thebracket 2 on a radius such that the lugs will fit the outer curvature ofthe gutter I2, which is usually provided on the outside of theautomobile body along the upper and forward margins of the dooropenings. The flanges I0 and II are thus shaped to fit the gutter snuglyand their inwardly reaching ends are turned downwardly so that they willlie flatly against the inside surface of the door frame, within andrearwardly beneath the margin of the overlapping flange 13 on theautomobile door.

In the arrangement shown, the flanges or lugs l0 and H of the bracket 2are secured to the automobile body by means of suitable screws orattachin means It which are engaged in suitably tapped holes in theinside of the door frame and co-act with the rearwardly reachingportions of the flanges or lugs to hold the improved mounting bracket 2securely in place. Thus the bracket 2 is readily mounted on or attachedto the automobile body in such a way that no visible holes or marrin-gof the exterior body finish will occur, the bracket 2 projectingvertically upward'from the automobile body adjacent the upper portion ofthe windshield, and the attaching or securing means are hidden by theautomobile door.

The securing or attaching means for the visor mounting brackets 2 arethus accessible only when the adjacent doors of the automobile are open,which obviates the possibility of the mounting brackets being removed orstolen when the vehicle doors are locked. Also, when the attaching meansIt are installed horizontally in the rearwardly reaching portions of theflanges or lugs l0 and l I, as shown in Fig. 2, the overlapping flangel3 of the automobile door will normally bear tightly against the head ofthe attaching means l4 when the door is closed, and serve to furtherclamp and secure the visor mounting bracket 2 against the door frame andprevent the attaching means from working loose due to vibrationtransmitted from the visor through the mounting brackets.

Usually the supporting member or bracket 2 will be mounted on theautomobile body in a portion of the door frame where the curvature ofthe door line begins. Hence it will be understood that the inwardlyturned or rearwardly reaching lugs or flanges l0 and II of the bracket 2will be formed so as to accommodate the curvature of the door frame atthe preferable point of mounting.

As shown in Fig. 1, the visor is preferably supported at its center, inaddition to the improved mounting brackets 2, and such support may beprovided by means of an adjustable supportingmember which has one endsuitably secured to the center part of the visor and its other endclamped to the vertical dividing bar at the center of the windshield.

Such a supporting member may comprise a clamp l5, adapted to fit aroundand be clamped to the center bar of the windshield, which'clamp ispivotally connected to a threaded rod l8, having threaded connectionwith an elongated nut H. A second threaded rod it, having a thread ofthe opposite hand of the rod [6, is screwed into the opposite end of thenut II, which is threaded accordingly, and is pivoted at its end to asuitable bracket, not shown, mounted on the inside of the visor at itscenter portion. Such a center support for the visor is adjustable toaccommodate vertical adjustment of the leading edge of the visor bymerely turning the elongated nut II, the nut together with the threadedrods I8 and I8 being in the nature of a turn buckle.

The main advantages of my improved visor mounting bracket reside in thesimple construction of the bracket and the arrangement of the attachingmeans whereby the mounting brackets are firmly attached to theautomobile body at a place where the greatest stability and mountingstrength may be obtained. Other advantages are to be found in thearrangement of the integral attaching flanges on the visor mountingbracket which are arranged to reach inwardly into the door opening toeffectively resist forward and upward displacement of the brackets, andthe disposition of the attaching means where they are hidden from viewand accessible only when the respective door is open.

Further advantages reside in the arrangement of the mounting bracketattaching flanges so that they reach rearwardly beneath the door, whenthe same is closed, whereby additional clamping and security of thevisor mounting bracket and the attaching means is obtained from the dooritself. Still further advantages reside in the fact that, with theimproved visor mounting bracket and attachment arrangement, there is novisible marring of the exterior body finish of the automobile when thevisor is applied or removed.

Although but one specific embodiment of this invention is herein shownand described, it will 5 be understood that details of the constructionshown may be altered or omitted without departing from the spirit ofthis invention as defined by the following claims.

I claim:

1. A visor for the windshield of a vehicle having doors at oppositesides of the windshield, said visor comprising a rigid panel assemblageadapted for disposition above the windshield, a supporting bracketattached to each of the opposite ends of said assemblage, each of saidbrackets having an integral attaching flange reaching inwardly into theadjacent door opening and rearwardly beneath the corresponding door whenclosed, and attaching means coacting with the rearwardly reachingportions of said flanges and being accessible only when the adjacentdoors are open.

2. .A visor for the windshield of a vehicle having doors at the oppositesides of the windshield, said visor comprising, a panel assemblageadapted for disposition above the windshield, a supporting bracketattached to each of the opposite ends of said assemblage, each of saidbrackets having an integral attaching flange reaching inwardly into theadjacent door opening and rearwardly beneath the corresponding door whenclosed, and attaching means coacting with said flanges within saidopenings and being accessible only when the adjacent doors are open.

3. A visor for a vehicle windshield having corner posts and side doorsat its opposite ends, said visor comprising, a panel assemblage adaptedfor swingably adjustable disposition above and forwardly of thewindshield, a supporting bracket pivotally attached to each of theopposite ends of said assemblage, each of said brackets having 6 a rigidattaching flange reaching inwardly in back of the adjacent corner postand into the door opening adjoining such post, and attaching meanscoacting with said flanges and the adjacent posts and being accessibleonly when the corresponding doors are open.

4. A visor for a vehicle windshield having corner posts and side doorsat its opposite ends, said visor comprising, a panel assemblage adaptedfor disposition above the windshield, a supporting bracket attached toeach of the opposite ends of said assemblage, each of said bracketshaving a rigid attaching flange reaching inwardly in back of theadjacent corner post and into the door opening adjoining such post, andmeans accessible only when the corresponding doors are open forattaching said brackets to the adjacent posts.

5. A visor for the windshield of a vehicle having door frames at theopposite sides of the windshield and doors mounted therein, said visorcomprising a panel assemblage adapted for disposition above thewindshield, a pair of vertically disposed supporting brackets attachedone at each end of said visor assemblage, each of said brackets havingan integral attaching flange reaching laterallyinward into the adjacentdoor opening behind the respective frame, said attaching flange beingcurved inwardly to flt tightly against the outside corner contour ofsaid frame and being No references cited.

